Mahamakut Buddhist University Marks 133rd Anniversary with Merit-Making Ceremony
Mahamakut Buddhist University celebrated its 133rd anniversary with a merit‑making ceremony led by a representative of the Supreme Patriarch. The event featured scholarship awards for monks and novices, royal honors for officials, and recognitions for benefactors and outstanding staff. It underscored the university’s mission to expand Buddhist education and develop scholars capable of spreading the doctrine worldwide.
The ceremony began with Somdej Mahawirong acting as the Supreme Patriarch’s representative, presiding over merit‑making rites and presenting reports on the university’s history and its mission to provide education and develop Buddhist successors. Phra Promwachiramethaphorn then offered the report and proceeded with a merit‑making robe‑offering to support the “Somdej Sangharaja Scholarship (Wasan Mahathera) under the Sangharaja Patronage,” which finances monks and novices for a full four‑year bachelor’s program at the university so they can propagate Buddhism. This effort is linked to the “Somdej Ariyavongsagatayana Scholarship (Ambaramahathera) under the Sangharaja Patronage,” which enables monks and novices to pursue master’s and doctoral degrees abroad in Buddhist studies, philosophy and linguistics to become scholars capable of researching and disseminating the Buddhist doctrine internationally. During the event, Somdej Mahawirong awarded the Somdej Sangharaja Scholarship and the Somdej Mahawirong Scholarship to attending monks and novices, conferred royal orders on newly appointed university officials, and presented the “Khun Sampanno” award to external benefactors and the “Wichchachan Sampanno” award to outstanding staff for 2026, both bearing the royal seal and inscribed with the Supreme Patriarch’s name. He also gave commemorative gifts to donors who contributed to the scholarship fund and delivered a congratulatory address before the ceremony concluded. The 133rd‑anniversary observance reflected the university’s commitment to uphold the Buddhist educational mission, expand opportunities, nurture Buddhist successors, honor benefactors, and develop staff as pillars of Buddhism and society under its guiding principle of “academic excellence in accordance with Buddhism.”
